The price for not keeping Dalton Schultz

[kskboys]

I love how some people here rush to the defense of the Front Office with the sentiment that “well they know more than you…so we should just shut up”….when the track record of the FO isn’t exactly very good and barely have any playoff wins to show for almost 30 years. But they know best….

And I have seen tons of evidence that several posters on this site alone are much more knowledgeable than this FO.

 

[kskboys]

Don't Get the the love of Dalton, he is average at best.... our other three young Te's all have a chance to make us forgrt him.. I feel great about the young stable they have honestly... I thought they showed last year they were getting better and ready to take over by this season. many our underestimating shoons maturity as well.

Love? He gets mostly hate.

 

[speedkilz88]

I made that point in my post. Had they not taken him late second, there probably wouldn’t have been a guy that could have stepped right in. It wasn’t a huge reach but Schoon was assuredly not the highest graded player at their pick.

If you think he's going to go in the next 10 picks, it is not a reach.

 

[ghst187]

And I have seen tons of evidence that several posters on this site alone are much more knowledgeable than this FO.

And I have seen tons of evidence that several posters on this site alone are much more knowledgeable than this FO.

Yep. Sadly both sides have equal amount of championships last almost 30 years…

 

[CashMan]

Schultz can't block.

Schoonmaker is one of the most well developed and nuanced blockers at the TE position that I've seen in college football.

You are acting as if he is Gronk 2.0. There was a run on TEs, and the Cowboys panicked.

 

[Jumbo075]

The front office felt like TE was a need and couldn't risk waiting until round 3 to get the player they wanted.

Schoonmamer was considered a reach at 58 overall.

Had we kept Schultz for 1 year, we could've gone Torrence, Mims, Drew Sanders, Kendre Miller or a lot of other players.

Would you rather have kept Schultz and gone with a different pick at 58?

Or are you glad the front office moved on from Dalton and that savings of $9 million this year?

There is no price for letting Dalton Schultz walk. He was overpaid last year, because the Cowboys had 2 rookies and a 2nd year player backing him up in Ferguson, Hendershot and Sean McKeon. The Cowboys drafted Ferguson last year (pick 129) to replace Schultz (pick 137), and the only difference between them was experience. Ferguson now has experience, and they drafted Schoonmaker in the 2nd round this year. Ferguson will start. Schoonmaker will play the role Ferguson did last year. By next year, the Cowboys will have two competent tight ends in Ferguson and Schoonmaker. Who knows which one will ultimately win the battle for TE1. But it won't really matter too much because TE2 will also play quite a lot. The difference in talent between Ferguson and Schultz is negligible on paper - although Travis Kelce seems to be impressed with the potential of Ferguson to become a special player.

Schultz was never special. He's a good journeyman NFL level tight end - and there is nothing wrong with that. But journeyman tight ends can be replaced, and the Cowboys always had a plan to get rid of Schultz this year, after he rejected their long-term offer. Dak will adjust, and make either Schoonmaker or Ferguson his safety outlet. The production of Schultz will be replicated this year, simply because Dak likes using a tight end. He's going to throw the ball to a tight end, and nothing Ferguson did last year indicates that he'll fall short of being able to reproduce the production of Schultz. Maybe either Ferguson or Schoonmaker will ultimately become a special tight end, or maybe they won't. The Cowboys, as evidenced by Schultz last year, don't need a special tight end to be a productive offense. They just need a competent one. Competence can be had for less than $9M per seaason. If it turns out that either Ferguson or Schoonmaker becomes a special talent, that is just a bonus that will allow the Cowboys to overcome other talent deficits.

 

[Jumbo075]

Well they let go of Schultz because they wanted to upgrade the position.

It wasn't a either or.

People have to come to grips that they did not like those guys as much as they liked Schoon. If we are to believe them they followed their board so there's a good chance Schoon was always the pick.

Even if he wasn't their first choice, it is apparent they were debating Guard or Defensive Tackle in the first round. It also appears that Mazi may have always been their top target in the first round, unless a higher rated player fell to them. The discussion in the room was that drafting a guard would be drafting a back-up player, so obviously they always planned to move Tyler Smith back to Guard for 2023. They planned to use a 2nd round pick on a TE, and they got one. Maybe it wasn't who they hoped it would be, but it might have been who they expected to be there when they picked. Chances are good they had Schoonmaker rated higher than at least one of the other players who were picked before him - due to his blocking skills.

It is quite obvious to anyone paying attention that the Cowboys value blocking skills in a tight end very highly, and his receiving skills, although they want someone competent, are not quite as important. That's due to the scheme they run on offense. They can use a good blocker who is a competent receiver. They don't have as much use for a really good receiver who cannot block. They'd rather spend their resources to find another wide receiver than on a tight end who cannot block.

 

[CashMan]

There is no price for letting Dalton Schultz walk. He was overpaid last year, because the Cowboys had 2 rookies and a 2nd year player backing him up in Ferguson, Hendershot and Sean McKeon. The Cowboys drafted Ferguson last year (pick 129) to replace Schultz (pick 137), and the only difference between them was experience. Ferguson now has experience, and they drafted Schoonmaker in the 2nd round this year. Ferguson will start. Schoonmaker will play the role Ferguson did last year. By next year, the Cowboys will have two competent tight ends in Ferguson and Schoonmaker. Who knows which one will ultimately win the battle for TE1. But it won't really matter too much because TE2 will also play quite a lot. The difference in talent between Ferguson and Schultz is negligible on paper - although Travis Kelce seems to be impressed with the potential of Ferguson to become a special player.

Schultz was never special. He's a good journeyman NFL level tight end - and there is nothing wrong with that. But journeyman tight ends can be replaced, and the Cowboys always had a plan to get rid of Schultz this year, after he rejected their long-term offer. Dak will adjust, and make either Schoonmaker or Ferguson his safety outlet. The production of Schultz will be replicated this year, simply because Dak likes using a tight end. He's going to throw the ball to a tight end, and nothing Ferguson did last year indicates that he'll fall short of being able to reproduce the production of Schultz. Maybe either Ferguson or Schoonmaker will ultimately become a special tight end, or maybe they won't. The Cowboys, as evidenced by Schultz last year, don't need a special tight end to be a productive offense. They just need a competent one. Competence can be had for less than $9M per seaason. If it turns out that either Ferguson or Schoonmaker becomes a special talent, that is just a bonus that will allow the Cowboys to overcome other talent deficits.

I think Hendershot is better than what people think he is.

 

[Jumbo075]

I think Hendershot is better than what people think he is.

The issue with Hendershot is that he's not as good at blocking. I like Hendershot, and he could develop into a threat. But he's going to have to earn his way on the field by being a better blocker. Only then will he get a shot to become a receiving threat.

 

[kskboys]

Yep. Sadly both sides have equal amount of championships last almost 30 years…

Now that is some awesome stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me n my football buds have just as many super bowl appearances as Jerry the last 29 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jblaze2004]

Travis Frederick was considered a reach when we picked him. Got to let this play out before wishing for someone else.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Schultz can't block.

Schoonmaker is one of the most well developed and nuanced blockers at the TE position that I've seen in college football.

 

[big dog cowboy]

There was a run on TEs, and the Cowboys panicked.

If the Cowboys were panicked, they would have traded up.

 

[kskboys]

Travis Frederick was considered a reach when we picked him. Got to let this play out before wishing for someone else.

By dummies. It wasn't anywhere near consensus.

 

[Cowboysheelsreds058]

Relax it’s all good! We got this.

 

[CowboyFrog]

I dont get the Schultz love, yes he was a good recieving TE on a team with 1 or 2 other option depending on who was in the game...if Lamb was bracketed in coverage and TP was on the sideline who the hell else was Dak going to throw the ball to?

 

[Eightneight]

Gee I guess the talking heads on ESPN and NFL network are not in the media. I was switching back and forth and it was clear they thought it was a reach.

Those same talking heads screamed that Travis Frederick was a reach too.

 

[Pass2Run]

Good thread. I don't hate the pick but yeah, the Cowboys used a pretty high up draft pick to fill a hole they intentionally created.

Everyone is going to have a different pet cat but for me the hole is at RB. The big slug of running backs went in the 3rd round, which means that Schoon was taken in front of Achane, Miller, Spears and Bigsby.

Unless Deuce really lights it up, I strongly suspect that one of those guys + Schultz would have been the better choice over Schoon plus some capspace.

For me the hole is WR 4. If Cooks or Lamb get hurt, we could be up a creek. WRs can be fickle when it comes to injuries. We saw this last year. Hopefully, Dallas hits on some of their draft picks and UDFAs.

 

[Buzzbait]

Considered a Reach by whom?

How about this If we kept that average TE we would have missed out on Schoonmaker

Agreed, and overpaid Shultz, then fans would've been up in arms because we opted to over pay the likes of Shultz who can't block. LOL
Around here you're danged if you do and danged if you don't.

 

[Buzzbait]

Those same talking heads screamed that Travis Frederick was a reach too.

I remember that. Wasn't just talking heads either, there was a lot of it around here too. How soon they forget.